How to send disappearing messages on whatsapp
How to turn on disappearing messages on WhatsApp
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(Pocket-lint) - WhatsApp's disappearing messages feature means new messages sent within an individual chat will automatically disappear after 24 hours, seven days or 90 days when turned on.
Disappearing messages is a feature available on some other services, like Signal, but this is how the feature works on WhatsApp, what to watch out for and how to enable the feature.
How does disappearing messages on WhatsApp work?
- 24 hours, seven days, 90 days
- Individual chat basis or all chats
- Admins only for group chats
Disappearing messages is a feature that needs to be enabled on WhatsApp. Once you have enabled the feature, messages sent in an individual or group chat will disappear after 24 hours, seven days or 90 days, depending on what you have set.
Messages that were sent or received previous to the disappearing messages feature being enabled won't be affected so you'll still be able to view them.
The feature can be enabled for all new chats that you start or are started with you, or you can enable it for individual chats and either user within the individual chat can turn the feature on or off. In a group chat, only the group admins will be able to turn disappearing messages on or off.
What should you watch out for?
- Previews
- Replies
- Screenshots
- Backups
Messages could still appear as a preview in notifications if a user hasn't opened WhatsApp. The preview would disappear when WhatsApp is opened however.
If you reply to a disappearing message, the initial message could still appear in the chat after the set disappearing period.
If the disappearing messages is forwarded to a chat that doesn't have disappearing messages enabled, the message won't disappear in that chat and will still be visible.
If a backup is created before the disappearing message disappears, the message will be included in the backup but disappearing messages will be deleted when you restore from a backup.
It's also worth noting that screenshots and photos can still be taken of a disappearing message before it goes and users can also copy and save content from a disappearing message before it disappears.
What about photos and media?
- Saved by default
WhatsApp automatically saves media that comes through the service to your photos by default.
It can be turned off - see our WhatsApp tips and tricks feature for help - but that means that while media and images would disappear if disappearing messages is enabled for that chat, they would still be saved on the recipients phone.
How to enable or disable disappearing messages
To enable or disable disappearing messages on iPhone or Android:
- Open WhatsApp
- Open the individual chat
- Tap on the contact's name at the top
- Select Disappearing Messages
- Tap Continue (if prompted)
- Select on or off
How to enable or disable disappearing messages for all chats
To enable or disable disappearing messages for all chats:
- Open WhatsApp
- Tap on Settings
- Tap on Account
- Tap on Privacy
- Tap on Default Message Timer
- Select 24 hours, 7 days or 90 days
How to enable or disable disappearing messages on a group chat
To enable or disable disappearing messages on a group chat you have to be an admin.
If you are:
- Open WhatsApp
- Open the group chat
- Tap on the group name at the top
- Select Disappearing Messages
- Tap Continue (if prompted)
- Select on or off
How to enable disappearing messages on Web and Desktop
To enable or disable disappearing messages on WhatsApp Web or Desktop apps:
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- Open WhatsApp Web/App
- Open the individual chat or group
- Tap on the contact or group name at the top
- Select Disappearing Messages
- Tap Continue (if prompted)
- Select on or off
Writing by Britta O'Boyle.
How to send WhatsApp Disappearing Messages
Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
If you’re sending someone a WhatsApp message, you may not want those messages to stay forever on the recipient’s phone.
It could be something potentially embarrassing or compromising in the future, or maybe you want to have an auto-delete function on your WhatsApp to keep things tidy? After a specific period of time, the message goes off to WhatsApp message heaven forever, never to be seen again. That’s the purpose of WhatsApp Disappearing Messages.
Read more: How to recover WhatsApp messages
QUICK ANSWER
To enable WhatsApp Disappearing Messages for all contacts, go to Settings—>Account—>Privacy—>Disappearing Messages. Select your desired time period. To enable the feature for only selected contacts, tap on their name at the top and choose Disappearing Messages. Select your desired time period. You may have to archive then unarchive the chat to see the function start.
JUMP TO KEY SECTIONS
- What are WhatsApp Disappearing Messages?
- Some things to bear in mind before you start
- How to send WhatsApp Disappearing Messages (Android and iPhone)
What are WhatsApp Disappearing Messages?
The Disappearing Messages feature is when you can send a WhatsApp message to one of your contacts, and WhatsApp will delete it from your device and the recipient’s device, after a time period specified by you.
Currently, that time period is either 24 hours, seven days, or 90 days. You cannot currently specify a customized time.
Some things to bear in mind before you start
Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
Although made with the best of intentions, WhatsApp’s Disappearing Messages function isn’t completely foolproof. Therefore, there are some things you need to remember before entrusting your most intimate thoughts to it.
- When you switch on Disappearing Messages, only messages sent after that will be affected. Messages already sent in the past will not disappear. It isn’t retroactive.
- If the message recipient doesn’t read your message in the time period you specified, the message will disappear as it’s supposed to. However, the message preview might still be displayed in the phone notifications until WhatsApp is opened.
- If the message recipient quotes a disappearing message in their reply, the quoted text might remain in the chat, even when the original message has disappeared.
- If a disappearing message is forwarded to another WhatsApp chat, where the Disappearing Messages feature is disabled, the message won’t disappear in the forwarded chat.
- If a user creates a backup of their WhatsApp archive before a message disappears, the disappearing message will be included in the backup. However, disappearing messages will be deleted when a user restores from a backup.
So bearing all of these caveats in mind, here’s how to enable the Disappearing Messages feature on your Android phone or iPhone. Currently, you cannot directly enable it on the desktop or web versions of WhatsApp. But if you enable it on the mobile app, the settings will sync with your desktop or web version.
How to send WhatsApp Disappearing Messages (Android and iPhone)
First, you have to switch the feature on, and there are two options here. You can either switch it on for all chats in the future with a default timer, or you can switch it on only for individual contacts with a specified timer for that person.
To switch it on for all new chats with a default timer, go to Settings—>Account—>Privacy—>Disappearing Messages.
Now select the time period you want to have.
To enable it on an existing chat, you need to archive it first, then bring it out of the archive. You will now see the Disappearing Messages icon next to the contact picture, and a new message that the feature has been switched on. Bear in mind the other person will see these things too, so you can’t hide the fact you’re nuking messages.
On the other hand, if you only want to enable Disappearing Messages for specific contacts, then go to that contact and tap on their name at the top of the screen.
Scroll down to Disappearing Messages and tap on it.
Now choose your desired time period as before. You may have to archive and unarchive the chat before seeing the feature appear on the screen.
Read more: How to delete WhatsApp messages
FAQs
Currently, you cannot directly enable it on the desktop and web versions.
But if you enable Disappearing Messages on the mobile app, the settings will also sync to your desktop or web version.
Yes, you can. It works the same way as a regular chat, although only group admins can enable or disable the Disappearing Messages feature in groups.
Yes, they will receive a message from WhatsApp that all future messages will be deleted after the time period you specified. They will also see a new icon next to their user profile picture.
If the sender has enabled the disappearing messages feature on the message they’ve sent, you can’t disable it. If you could, it would make the whole point of disappearing messages moot.
These messages are just about as secure as anything else on WhatsApp, with the added benefit of them being inaccessible after a certain amount of time. That doesn’t always meant they’re history, though, as people can still screenshot disappearing messages, and WhatsApp won’t notify you if they do.
How to send disappearing messages and photos in WhatsApp on iPhone
Skip to content
- Instructions
Svetlana Simagina
Sometimes you need to send a message that would be better if it disappeared after some time.
Now WhatsApp has such messages, and below we will tell you how to use them.
First, let's talk about how disappearing messages work and what the limitations are.
How WhatsApp disappearing messages work
What are WhatsApp disappearing messages ?
All messages in private and group chats will be automatically deleted after 7 days, even if no one reads them. This is handy if you need to share a personal screenshot or content that would be better off disappearing later.
However, these messages can be forwarded or screenshots taken.
Does this affect old messages at WhatsApp ?
No. Only those messages that you send after the function is enabled will disappear.
Can disappearing messages be enabled in group chats?
Yes, disappearing messages are also available in WhatsApp group chats. Only the chat administrator can enable the feature.
In private chats, settings can be changed by both participants.
If the message is forwarded, will it be seen?
Yes, but only for 7 days. When the original message disappears, the forwarded message will also disappear.
Is it possible to recover such a message?
No, messages are permanently deleted and cannot be recovered.
Is it possible to automatically remove disappearing media from Photos?
No. All media from the messenger will be automatically saved in the Photos app. Even if the photo or video disappears from the chat, it will remain on your device.
If you don't need it, go to Settings WhatsApp > Data and storage and disable Media autoload .
How to send disappearing messages on WhatsApp
Step 1: Open the WhatsApp application.
Step 2: Open the profile of the person you want to chat with disappearing messages.
Step 3: Select option Disappearing messages . You will see a description of the function. Press Continue .
Step 4: Now press On to enable the function.
Now all chat messages with this person will automatically disappear after 7 days. When you open a chat with disappearing messages, you will see a warning that the feature is active.
How to send disappearing messages in group chats
Step 1 : Open a WhatsApp group chat.
Step 2: Tap the chat title.
Step 3: Click Disappearing messages .
Step 4: Press On .
To disable the feature, just go to the chat settings and change the option to "Off". Changes will only affect messages sent after the options have been changed.
How to send disappearing photos and videos on WhatsApp
WhatsApp also allows you to send photos and videos that will disappear immediately after the first viewing.
Step 1: Open any chat. Click the add media icon.
Step 2: Take or select a photo or video.
Step 3: Next to the submit button, you will see a "1" icon. Click it to make the media disappear immediately after viewing.
Disappearing messages and photo features are very useful, but it would be great if they added screenshot alerts as well.
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How to send disappearing messages on WhatsApp
Many hardcore texters complain about endless topics that are often annoying to erase individually unless they are saved for a good reason or forgotten. WhatsApp's "Clear Chat" feature does clear things up in this regard, but not to an automated degree. Chats are always cumulative, adding a physical backup of your conversations without any manual action against them.
WhatsApp aims to clean up user chats, save space and improve text security.
Now you can choose the duration of your text in the conversation. Once the time has elapsed, text messages disappear for both you and the recipient. This is a win for WhatsApp's accuracy and privacy. However, the issue of security is debatable.
Screenshots are a loophole in this WhatsApp feature. In addition, Disappearing Messages can be a breath of fresh air, most of the time for the sender, but sometimes both for the sender and the recipient. You can enable this feature on all WhatsApp platforms. The procedure for enabling Disappearing Messages is the same on all devices.
About the Disappearing Messages feature
When the Disappearing Messages feature first appeared, it should have been an individual choice. You could not enable this feature for all chats (group and private). There was also no configurable fade duration. Seven days were the default.
WhatsApp updates to this feature have opened up additional duration options in both private and group chats.
The platform has introduced another "disappearing messages" feature, but this time as a general setting for all new chats. "Default message timer" counts down the time of new conversations and erases them after the specified time.
The "Default Message Timer" is currently only available on the WhatsApp mobile app. You can turn it on on your phone and this setting will be reflected on all WhatsApp devices that support the disappearing messages feature.
Enable disappearing messages in individual chats
As mentioned above, users can send disappearing messages in both private and group chats. The procedure is the same for private and group chats. Here's how you do it.
Launch WhatsApp on your device and open the chat for which you want to allow messages to disappear. This can be a private or group chat. Touch the name of the person/group.
Scroll the contact page a bit to find and tap/tap Disappearing Messages. It will be disabled by default.
On the Disappearing Messages screen, tap the switch in front of the selected duration (24 hours, 7 days, and 90 days) in the Message Timer section. To disable this feature, simply tap the switch next to the OFF option.
All your messages in the selected chat will disappear after the specified time. You will see a timer icon at the bottom of the contact/group image in addition to a notification that Disappearing Messages is enabled. The notification will also have the duration you choose.
Clicking on this notification will take you directly to the screen above, the Disappearing Messages screen, where you can make adjustments to the duration of the disappearance.
Enable the default message timer for all new chats
The default message timer is only available in the WhatsApp mobile app. To use this feature, launch WhatsApp on your phone and tap the ellipsis (three vertical dots) icon in the top right corner of the screen.
Select the "Settings" option from the menu that appears.
Tap the Account option on the Settings page.
Now tap the Privacy option on the Account screen.
Tap the Default Message Timer option under Disappearing Messages on the Privacy screen.
You will see a familiar screen, but with a different name, the Default Message Timer screen. This is the same as the Disappearing Messages screen. Here, too, tap the switch in front of the selected duration. Press the "OFF" button to disable this feature.
All your new chats will disappear after the selected duration. New contacts will have a timer icon and feature notification display. Although this feature is not available on other WhatsApp devices, you will see the Default Message Timer notification for new chats on all devices.
When you turn on "disappearing messages" or "default message timer", anyone can change the duration or even disable this feature.
